Pausing in Javascript

Question

Is there a way to pause code execution in JS? I'm trying to create a browser based terminal, and I'm having trouble creating a user input type functionality.

Essentially I want to have a parameter called currentCommand which initializes in a false state and a function which waits for the currentCommand variable to change before completing like:

while(!currentCommand) {
  pass;
}

Here's how I'd like it to be applied:

let currentCommand = false;  // this variable holds the command the user has entered

// Placeholder of a user text input
document.addEventListener('keydown', () => {
  currentCommand = 'Timmy';
} 

// Problematic function
function getAnswer(){
  currentCommand = false;
  // something that will pause the function while currentCommand is false
  return currentCommand
}

// Example of implementation
console.log('Hi what is your name?');
let answer = getAnswer();
console.log(`${asnwer}, that's a silly name`);

An example implementation for context: https://jsfiddle.net/u98r1dyp/17/#&togetherjs=jmnaRa89uT

CertainPerformance · Accepted Answer · 2020-12-31 03:24:17Z

2

The closest you can probably get would be to promisify whichever API you're using and await its resolution:

const getAnswer = () => new Promise((resolve) => {
  document.addEventListener('keydown', () => {
    resolve('Timmy');
  });
});

(async () => {
  console.log('Hi what is your name?');
  const answer = await getAnswer();
  console.log(`${answer}, that's a silly name`);
})();

(also note that you need another ) at the end of addEventListener, and you probably want to spell answer right - asnwer is never defined)

answered Dec 31, 2020 at 3:24

CertainPerformance

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